Workers prepare an X-ray machine for removal from E Area.
A radiation technician at SRS measures radiation levels on the outside of a radioactive source for the non-destructive assay counters going to Idaho National Laboratory.
AIKEN, S.C. – EM transferred equipment used to characterize transuranic (TRU) waste at the Savannah River Site to other DOE sites for use, saving approximately $5.7 million in taxpayer dollars and reducing waste.
The equipment included a large X-ray machine and its related pieces, and two radiation counters used for waste characterization done through non-destructive assay (NDA), which measures the types and quantity of radioactivity.
“This equipment is no longer needed for site missions. It is being removed from E Area to free up the space for low-level waste disposal,” DOE Waste Disposal Program Lead Dan Ferguson said. “The equipment is free for release, which means it was never contaminated with radioactive materials.”
The X-ray equipment will be sent to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., for use in technology development to improve the lifetime of roadways, scan cargo for homeland security and irradiate medical products and food for sterilization. The equipment can also be used to perform inspections in commercial operations such as casting, power, aerospace, chemical, petro-chemical and automotive industries.
The radiation counters went to Idaho National Laboratory to help finish the site’s legacy TRU waste mission.
“TRU waste consists of items normally found within an industrial setting that have become contaminated with long-lived radioisotopes, such as plutonium,” Ferguson said. “Tools, protective clothing, containers, rags and other debris would be typical examples. The legacy TRU waste was left behind after the Cold War missions ended. SRS has finished its legacy TRU waste mission, with the remaining legacy TRU waste packaged, characterized and ready to be shipped upon the reopening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).”
This equipment will be used to help characterize the types and quantities of radionuclides present in materials without having to physically sample or disturb the source materials. This is necessary to make sure that the materials in TRU waste containers meet WIPP criteria.
Ferguson said that SRS continues to be a steward of taxpayer dollars.
“The reuse of this equipment is an example of our commitment to reduce waste,” he said. “If this equipment had not found reuse, it might have ended up being disposed here at the site as waste.”